An outstanding on-site poster from arguably the most famous prize fight of all-time: the 1974 Ali-Foreman “Rumble in the Jungle.” Held on October 30, 1974, this Heavyweight Championship bout matched defending champ George Foreman against former champ and 4-1 underdog Muhammad Ali. 60,000 fans attended the fight in-person while an estimated one billion watched on television.
Though the underdog, Ali was in top form as he introduced his now trademark “rope-a-dope” tactic to wear down the much-favored Foreman. The challenger continuously trash-talked Foreman, at one point even whispering, “That all you got, George?” after Foreman unleashed what he thought was a knockout blow to Ali’s jaw. The fight ended in an 8th round knockout by Ali, re-gaining the Heavyweight title he had lost back in 1967.
Notably, the fight was originally scheduled for September 25 but had to be postponed when Foreman suffered a cut above his right eye in a training accident. As such, the dates on all the original posters, including this offered example, had to be altered with a yellow strip of paper on which the new date was printed. Because the fight was held in Zaire, far away from the usual fight venues, examples of the French language on-site posters are exceedingly rare. This example was purchased by our consigner in London and restored to its present condition. Measuring a massive 74” x 47”, this is one of the finest copies of the “Rumble in the Jungle” poster in the hobby.